Choral workshop & concert with composer Matthew Coleridge
A rare opportunity to sing in one of the South West's most spectacular abbeys, and to spend the day working with one of the UK's most exciting up-and-coming Composers!
Singer tickets £20 (includes loan of music on the day)
Join a massed choir of singers from Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire as we give the largest ever performance of Matthew Coleridge's Requiem, conducted by the composer, in the sublime setting of Downside Abbey, near Radstock in Somerset.
It'll be the first time in nearly 150 years that the Abbey has opened its doors for an outside choir, so don't miss this incredible opportunity to sing in a thrilling performance.
We'll also be singing Parry's iconic anthem I Was Glad and a new arrangement of O Praise Ye The Lord, accompanied by Daniel Cushing at the abbey's thunderous organ.
Singer tickets £20 (includes loan of music on the day)
He creates joy, and sublime moments. Book your place now before work gets out! Come and Sing Somewhere - Exeter Cathedral 2021
CAN I COME AND SING? What to expect...
This event is suitable to all choral singers with a basic grasp of music reading. We'll spend the morning learning our parts, before polishing things in the afternoon. Sight-reading ability is helpful but not essential, and you'll be amazed at how much we get done in just one day!
If you'd like to learn your part ahead of the day, you can order a vocal score in advance. Free rehearsal tracks are available at www.koor.app (you'll need to create a free user account).
Singer Feedback
A glorious piece to sing... a lot of us were in tears by the end of it Teresa Stubbs - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019
He creates joy, and sublime moments. Book your place now before work gets out! Come and Sing Somewhere - Exeter Cathedral 2021
Many thanks, Matthew, for a truly wonderful experience last Saturday. Even a week on, the beautiful harmonies are still ringing in my ears! Nina Morton - Warwick workshop 2021
Thank you so much for an inspiring day. I have the whole of the Requiem as a perpetual ear worm! Jan Edwards - Bristol workshop 2021
One of England’s great neo-Gothic churches with the work of several distinguished architects including Thomas Garner, Sir Ninian Comper and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott contributing to its beauty and originality.
By Car
The Abbey is situated on the A367, four miles south of Radstock. There is ample parking in the Abbey car parks.
NB. when arriving, please follow the brown signs to Downside Abbey, NOT the signs to Downside Abbey School. The entrance is on Abbey Road, next to St Benedict's Church.
By Public Transport
Bus Route 174 from Wells to Bath (via Shepton Mallet, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Peasedown St John and Odd Down)
Bus Route 184 from Frome to Midsomer Norton
Schedule (timings are provisional)
10:00
Singer registration and distribution of music. Free tea and coffee in the monks' refectory.
11:00
Morning workshop with composer Matthew Coleridge and accompanist Daniel Cushing. We'll learn our parts, and hear insights about the writing of Requiem. There will be mid-morning breaks, and some sectional rehearsals.
13:00
Break for lunch. Enjoy a picnic in the abbey grounds, or visit the tea room on site.
14:00 - 17:00
Afternoon rehearsal, with organ and soloists.
18:30 - 19:30
Concert performance of Requiem.
Evening performance
After the workshop, we'll be giving a formal concert performance of Requiem at 6:30pm. Audience tickets will be available nearer the time. Please bring suitable concert attire.
Ladies: black, long-sleeved top; black skirt or trousers. Men: blacks shirt and trousers (no tie)
Composer and conductor Matthew Coleridge (b.1980) is an exciting voice in the British choral music scene. His first choral composition - the Corpus Christi Carol - was recorded by a cappella group The Queen's Six, appearing on the cover CD of BBC Music Magazine's Christmas edition in 2015.
His highly melodic and very approachable compositional style often blends elements of plainsong and medieval music with shimmering modern harmonies - weaving simple melodic lines into rich tapestries of sound.
Requiem (composed 2014-15) was hailed by the late Sir Neville Marriner as "a valuable addition to the 21st century choral repertoire". Is is regularly performed by choirs across the UK, and overseas.
Matthew's 'Requiem in a Day' choral workshops are very popular amongst choral singers, giving them the opportunity to sing this wonderful piece in some of the UK's most prestigious church buildings.
Daniel Robert Cushing - organ
Daniel Robert Cushing is an expressive and articulate choral conductor who is known for his directing of evocative and distinctive performances.
He has conducted and accompanied a number of prestigious performances in prominent venues across South Wales and the South West of England including Bath Abbey, St. Mary's Painswick, Wiltshire Music Centre and at the Cathedrals of Wells, Bristol, Brecon, Newport, Clifton and Truro. As an early music enthusiast Daniel provides the harpsichord and organ continuo for the Bath based ensemble Bladud Baroque Trio.
Daniel is the founder and director of his Wiltshire based chamber choir - Dolce Singers. He is the Musical Director of Somerset Choral Society, Somer Valley Singers and accompanies/conducts his Bath based duo Newton Park Singers. Daniel is a freelance organist who performs extensively across the South West of England and regularly accompanies international baritone Matthew Tilley. Daniel has previously been the chorus master for Corsley Festival choir, has performed as an official accompanist for the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod and was Musical Director of 'The Octet', a finely judged semi-professional chamber choir that toured the UK.
Daniel has held posts as Organist and Master of the Choristers at St. Margaret’s Church, Blackwood and Central Methodist Church, Blackwood and has also been an organist at Christ Church, Bath. Graduating from Bath Spa University with MA and BA (Hons) Music, Daniel studied piano under the distinguished Maria Angel Garcia and Organ with Shean Bowers and Dr Emma Gibbins.
Emily Hicks - Soprano
Soprano Emily Hicks is a familiar face at Matthew’s Requiem in a Day workshops, having previously performed the piece at Portsmouth Cathedral, Dorchester Abbey and Romsey Abbey.
She was a choral scholar at Royal Holloway, singing in the Chapel Choir and Schola Cantorum and recording several CDs, including one as a featured soloist. She currently studies with opera singer Anna Gregory.
Choral workshops
Requiem in a Day workshops
Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in some of the country's most inspiring cathedrals, abbeys and churches. All events are directed by the composer.
"Matthew Coleridge is a great force for good in the choral world" - Alexander Armstrong, Classic FM
